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Ole Miss comes backs from 22 down with 9:45 seconds left.

Sunday, September 27, 1998

Mississippi 48, SMU 41 (OT)

By JAIME ARON

AP Sports Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- Ole Miss had fumbled seven times, losing four of them, and let an interception get returned for a touchdown. The Rebels were down by 22 points Saturday and knew the score was no fluke.

But with 9:45 seconds left, they didn't give up.

Mississippi got a 3-yard touchdown run from Joe Gunn, a 92-yard punt return by Corey Peterson and a 44-yard touchdown pass from Romaro Miller to Grant Heard with 31 seconds left to force overtime.

In the extra period, Deuce McAllister scored on a 4-yard run for an incredible 48-41 victory over Southern Methodist.

"I'm a little bit shocked at how we played ... just disgusted," said Mississippi coach Tommy Tuberville. "Nine minutes shouldn't be enough time to score that many points and have a chance to win, but it just worked out that way."

The comeback was the biggest for Ole Miss (3-1) in Tuberville's four years, and it kept the Rebels undefeated in 12 non-conference games under him.

SMU (0-4), which suffered the biggest blown lead in school history, has have lost five in a row, two of them in overtime.

"I wish I could explain this," said coach Mike Cavan, whose team has followed its first winning season since 1986 with its worst start since 1960.

The Mustangs were in charge for 3-1/2 quarters, thanks mostly to the Rebels' mistakes. After scoring two first-half touchdowns following Ole Miss fumbles, SMU used another fumble and an interception returned for a touchdown to take a 42-19 lead.

That's when the comeback began.

Miller -- whose previous three drives ended with a fumble at the SMU 2, another fumble and the interception returned for a touchdown -- completed five straight passes for 64 yards, setting up Gunn's short touchdown run. A two-point pass to Peterson made it 41-27 with 7:22 left.

The Mustangs recovered an onside kick at the Rebels' 45, but had to punt three plays later. Colin Vadheim booted the ball to the 8, and Peterson went 92 yards up the right sideline for the fifth-longest punt return in school history, cutting the Ole Miss deficit to 41-34 with 5:55 remaining.

"I saw two of their gunners on the right side, and I knew there'd be an opening," Peterson said. "I didn't know it was going to break like that."

The Mustangs punted again, then forced the Rebels into a fourth-and-seven from their own 15 with 1:31 to play. Miller kept the drive alive with a 10-yard pass to Heard, then two more completions pushed Ole Miss to the SMU 44.

On second down, Miller scrambled back and forth searching for an open man, then heaved the ball down the left sideline to Heard, who caught it in the end zone.

Gunn's touchdown had been the only designed running play for Ole Miss since being down 42-19, but Tuberville decided to keep the ball on the ground in overtime.

Alternating between McAllister and Gunn, the Rebels moved 21 yards in four plays. The fifth play was McAllister's turn, and he knew he was going to score as soon as he cleared the right side of the line, raising his left arm in triumph.

The Mustangs nearly answered on their first play as freshman Josh McCown found Albert Johnson in the end zone, but two defenders jarred the ball loose for an incompletion.

"We thought we had something," Cavan said.

After a short run and a big sack forced fourth-and-16, McCown threw the ball well beyond two receivers and out of the end zone.

McCown, making just his second start, was 12-of-21 for 123 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Albert Johnson had 93 yards receiving and caught two touchdown passes for the third straight game.

Rodnick Phillips had 119 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Miller, a sophomore, was 32-of-51 for 351 yards and a touchdown with an interception. The Rebels ran for 161 yards, led by 77 from Gunn.

Although this was Ole Miss' first game at the Cotton Bowl since losing to Texas on New Year's Day in 1962, it was hard to tell the Rebels were the visitors as at least half the crowd of 22,281 rooted for Mississippi.